In the past few years it has come to our attention that although the U.S. is among the wealthiest countries in the world it is also, in many ways, among the most unhealthy. In more impoverished nations children struggle to obtain appropriate levels of nutrition and for obvious reasons, but in a country so well off as ours, children experience the same malnutrition, and while overeating?! Who seems to be eating healthier between these couch-surfing American kids and this Haitian orphan? Tough call huh?

This doesn’t look too promising, but taking a step in the right direction can be as easy as asking yourself a simple question: “Where does my food come from?” The fact is it’s hard to know where your food is coming from these days and often-times major restaurant chains, distributors and grocers aren’t going to go out of their way to lend a helping hand. You may not understand the language of this ad, but the message is clear.

But the good news is that there is a GREAT way to ensure that you know where your food is coming from. Just get local! Local foods allow you to eat healthier, fresher and better tasting foods. And while sustaining your health and your taste buds, you can also promote vital economic, environmental and cultural aspects of our community.

Sustainable Health and Flavor

When you eat local, you eat fresher. When you have produce shipped from hundreds or even thousands of miles away it loses crispness, flavor, and substantial nutrients along the way. Foods that are grown to be shipped are many times picked before they are ripe or have been treated with more chemicals to preserve the produce for the long journey ahead. So the closer you are to the source of your food, the fresher it is: It’s that simple!

In addition, eating local allows you to taste the variety of the seasons and eat the foods that are naturally grown for that appropriate time of year. Eat eggplant in the fall to celebrate the harvest. Ring in the spring bloom with some fresh asparagus. Eat the right foods during the time when they were naturally intended to be eaten. If you think the pilgrims were smearing avocado on their turkey and corn during their Thanksgiving bounty, you are sadly mistaken.

Sustainable Economy and Environment

It’s become harder and harder for small farms to stay in business as increased costs and intense competition from corporate farms cut down on profits of the small community farmer. Buying local supports the farms within your community and the people you know, not the big businesses based in who-knows-where. As fossil fuels are becoming scarcer or more costly, the uncertainty of the global economy looms. Keeping your food dollars local creates jobs and pays taxes within your own community, as well as builds and strengthens the local food systems we know we can in-turn rely on for years to come.

In supporting local farmers as opposed to corporate farms, you’re supporting a culture, a way of life, and an ancient heritage. The further we become detached from sustainable agriculture, the further away we get from our heritage and the land that we live in.

Finally, supporting local farms means supporting natural beauty. As land prices and property taxes increase, farms are being knocked out to make way for housing and shopping developments and parking lots. Making local farms profitable protects the rural landscape and our open spaces.

How to Get Local

There are various ways you can go about starting your own local food revolution. Find participating grocery stores and restaurants. Ask them what local ingredients they carry? If they’re not, tell them you value local products. Seek out your local farmers markets and CSA’s where most likely the produce you’re buying will be freshly picked that morning.

Find and support sustainable and local agriculture organizations. Eating Local is truly a revolution and every community has their own respective movement. For example Asheville’s is led by ASAP (Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Project) who’s sole purpose is to support local farmers and the sustainability of local agriculture in the Appalachian region. They provide an abundance of resources for both farmers and local food seekers, such as their local food guide which helps both parties!

Get local!

Local food has been a challenge to us in the past because without the interest and direction to support local food, it has been difficult or inconvenient to get yours hands on. Now with local foods emerging in restaurants and grocery stores, its our responsibilty to keep it around: to support it and keep it sustainable.

Local food is becoming evermore available to us, and when it’s out there, it’s truly a no-brainer. Eat local. Eat healthy. Eat good. That’s all it takes.

Photos: Asheville Foodie | Childhood Obesity Prevention